DAVID HOOVER'S

AR-6 ENDEAVORP/ologw- Mtk amoa a'?dth.aR-s

On August 30, 1992, Mik€ Afnold otPinole, ca shocksd th€ l6chnical sid.olth€ aviation wodd whsn he s€t a new lhBkilomst€r straight line wodd's sp€€d rocordovd an NAA/FAI 3up6ruised courss n€arDavis, CA. vsry shortly, wo d Enowneda€rodynanacisrs such as Bruc6 camicha€land l rv Culv6r waro € i lher knocking atMik€'s door oroth6Mis€ contacting himlor infofmalion on how h6 had accom-

Whvsuch a hubbub? ln th€ cont6xt oltho lim€, 1 992, Mik63 lourway avorag€sPe€d o l213.18 mi l6s p6r hour palsd incomparison wilh lhe stand.rds ol ths day:tho Mach 2 atmosoheric so66ds ol con-temporary j6 t iaghl€rs and lh6 osc.pev€locity rockoG rcutin6ly achisved as th6yblast€d ofi into out6r spac6. whar grabb€dth6 alionrion ol aerodynamicBts was rhsfacl that Mik€ had s€r th€ n6w rocord in alittls alrplano h€ had d€signsd and buitlrhat was pow6€d wilh a lwo-srroks Rota(582 rai6d al 05 hore€pow€i Th6E was noway that ai plan6 cot]ld have gons thal l6ton lhat small amount ot oow€r, ti€ a6rodv-namicisls inslanlt €cosniz€d, unless Mik6had somshow rgduc€d his toial aidram€

drag lo an unusual ninimum, Th6 prci6-sionals w€r€ €ven mor6 inrigugd whsnth€y l6arn€d lhal Mike was a s6ll-taugit,strictly amaia!. aircralt d6sign6r Nsv€rhavang dark€n6d lhe door ot an a€rcn.uti-car engin€€ring 3ch@1, h€ was a fh mak€rwho$ aviarion backqround was limited tonying as a sport pilol and sorE compositsiabrication exporience gain€d by ashortstint an tho midrTos working wilh Fr€d Ji-ra at his sailplano rcpai.lacility at Moiav6,

Mik6 had b€€n an aviation €nthusiast allhis lit6, how6v6r Hs buill mod€ls. r6ad€vs.ything h6 could lay hands on - ssp€-cially aboul World War ll fight€rs - anddroam6d about som€day d6signing andbuilding his own afiordabl€, mini-fi9h16rH€ was parliculady d€vot€d to poring ovdSighard Ho€rn€r's book, "Ftuid Dynamic0t 9," and n was tom lho$ pag€s that h€crm6 up with th6 id€a that th€E was morelo b€ gain€d by Educinq lh6 drag thal d6-velops at th€ in t€rs6cl ions ot var iousairLam6 compon€nls lhan wa commonlysupp66d - o( ai lsast, paid a lot of an€n-tion lo. Th6t wa €sp€cially 1ru6, h€ cam6to bsli€ve, on snall, lightwsight alrplanosbecauss lhs i r In l€rsecl ion drag was ahiqhe. p6.c€nr ol lotal drag lhan it was on

Finally, in 1981 Mik6 began dosigninghas own row power, high p€domdco hinl-iight€r, which h6 nam€d th€ A8-5. lt woutdbs a shgle plac6,low wing, all-composilomonoPlane lust larg6 6nough lo comtod-ably accommodato his n63r six iooi t ame -about th€ size ot a Midgol Mustang. In itsd€sign and consirucrion, Mll(s u3€d atlth6go-tad t€chniqu6s ihat wef€ wlthin hi3budgsl and capabililiB: laminar flow alrloilsetions, lhs smooth 3urfac6 oossible withcomp6itos and light w€lghi - 488 pounds6mply. Surprisingly, in spit€ ol having afixsd g€ar and 6 ralhd blunt, lound cowllnq( i t lookod l ik€ a mln ia lu16 radia l€nginscowD, th€aF-5 had allat plal6oquivat€nrotju8l.88 squarc r€ei. Tn€ flx6d, cto36tyrairsd main 96a. w.s somewhat unu$al inlhat the l€gs wor6 moont€d w€tt od on thswings - ou! ol ti6 prop wash - and clossenough to vertical lo b€ v€ry nsar th6 id6alangl€ lor low6l ints6ciion drag.

wh€rc Mlks w€nl oif on his own, bae€don has intarprglalion ol Ho€.n6r5 Es€arch,was in his €fiorts ro rsduc6 tho wing-lo-iusglag€ int€rseiion drag. Fi|6l, h€ mad€his tus€lago s ld6s run paral l€ l t rom th6hagh6st point o l th6 wing 6 i r lo i ts€cr ionback tolh6wing's trailing €d96. Ssond,

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AF-5lasl and a good dog t9hl6r wefe lhesame asihose needed lof a realy lasl Formula One racer Thal realzal on was slllonh is mind when he mel Fo .mula One p lo tTroy Chann ing a l Oshkosh n 1993. Troywas one ol lhe compelitoB in theAeroshellSpeed Oash. Mike says lhal Troy nsp fedhrm lo extrapolale h s AR-5 design into theAR 6 , a Conr inenrarO-200 powered Form0la one race f . and. once back home rncalfofnia. he began work on the n.w air-plane. ncluding lhe constrlcl on ol a modelwr th wh ch to be t te r v isua l rze lhe var iousdesign elemenrs. Sadly. however, beforeM ke gol very laralong n ihe process, TroyChanning dred in lhecrash ot a Moslang ll-wh ch le f i M ikewi rhout the hea. t lo con

He dld, however, w.te a second, moredelarled article lor the May 1997 issue olSport Av alion. which incllded photos ollheAR 6 modeL. The same teaiures used nthe AF-s wef€ rnc uded in rhe AR 6 lhepara le fuse lage s ides , e ipandrng radruswing rootianrngs, posirion n9 ol rhe h gheslpoint oi the canopy direclly over ihe lrarling€ d g e o l l h e w r n q a n d l h esmooth exlenor surlaces oi thea rifame. On the AR 6 model.tVike ia red the att porlions otthe eng ne cowling lnlo lhe luse-lage sides (an area ol pos tivepress0re) above lhe lead ingedge ol the wng (nsgalve Pressure). and simi!any aligned lhea l l po^ ion o l lhe whee lpan ls(positive pressu.e) w h the unglead nq edge - In both nslancosio reduce Interseclion drag, es-pec a l l y in h gh G 1 ! rns whe.elhe drag increases dramalically.He a !so moved lhe hor izon ta lla I lo rward so r i s a l t por l ron(posr t rve pressure) wou ld bearigned wrh the loea.d ponron(negal ve press!.e)or the vertlca ta I The wrng, o l course ,

would have a h th aspoct faiio and wo!ldemploy an ai.loi seclion designed lor lheracer by Hairy Ribblell. who unde.stoodand a9reed wilh Mike s rnte.section drag

That. ostensibly, was the beginning andend ol lheAF 6 orso I appeared n 1997.Mik6 subtirled the parr olthe spon AvEionart cle on rhe race. as TheAR-6 TheAirp lane That Never Was. " Th6ro was,howeve., a paralle slream of life and avia-I on Invo lvom6nl lha l wo! ld soon me.gewith Mikes to make lhe AF-6 a realily.

OAVID HOOVEFI AND fHE AF.6

An racer David Hoover was born n Dal-las , TX in 1963 and grew up there rn anaviarion lamily. H s ialher owned a cha.lerservce based ai Love Field, oporaling DC-3s and light twins. Oavid learned to lly alth€ busy anpor t , wh.h was rh€ pr inc pa lDallas/Fon Wonh arline atpod pno.to lheopen ing o l OFW He l lew P ipsrWadorsand A.che.s untilleavrng home lo enrollatokahoma star6 in srillwarer, oK. The.e. hejo n€d a h verslly lly ng cllb and learned lohandle raidraggeB n rhecLubs Cilabias.

Davld eafned a degree n businsss andmet h s wile, Stacy, al Oklahoma slale Al-le r g radua l ion and lhe i r mar i iage , lheHoov6r's moved to lhe San Francisco Bayarea and have l i ved In Fos ter C i ty €v€rs ince Oavrd worked In l inance to r manyyears. bll operates his own businesstoday.

Conrinuing ro fly, oavid boughr a chrs-l€n Eag le p ro jec l in 1988 and spent thelollowing rwo yea6competng it. That ceated a need lor a hangar, whch is a scarceconmod ly in lhe Bay area. Fonunalely, ai/isnd introduced him lo race pilot OaveMorss whowas w i l lng to ren i ha i o f h shanga.ar lhe nearby San CanosAirpon.

''That was when I starled getl n9 nlerested in Formula Ones." Dav d .ecalls. Islarled crewing fo. Oave and aler bolghlone ot lwo race.s he had in the hangar Hehad a rearry worn our, tned old cassutr heca red theVdso Cassult and I bolghl il n1992. lbasicallythrew away eveMhrng ex-cepl lhe rudderand lhe luselagelrame and€bui r ir In i alry. it was a srab wing c4sutrand I began racrng it at R€no in 1994 - myrook i€ year . Every year I showed up a lRono il was d tferenl. I pul on a laperedwing and made o ther rmprovemenls , so

every year il wsnl lastsr. The tirst year, Iqua l i l i ed i i a i204 mph and the las l yea . ,1999, I qualified al244. At lhat poinl lwasn the lop fo!r ot lhe Fo.mula On€s, but I

wanted 1o be more compslitive. I lholghtrhe Cassln was as lasl as it was ever goingto be, so lsold itto scony cBndemtre andhs b€gan rac ing i r in 2000. The a i rp ranewas named 'Frenzy whrleIownedil. Scottyput a wild new painl job on it and renamedit 'oulrageo!s . He s srill racing it.

For a racor who wanled lo win ratherrhan simply compete. oavid had had thsmislortune ol srading his Formula One ca-reer just afte.the begi.ning of lhe amdingst.ing olnn€ conseutive Reno Gold cham-pionships by Jon Sharp and his InvincibleNemesis. so rotally dominant was Nsm€sis, lrom 1991 unn t was r€tned afior lhe1999 Reno races , tha l mos l o l lhe o lherFonlla One compolilors semed rsignedlo battling lor second place - bui nol OavidHoover . ay 1999 he was a ready de termined to bu d a new racsr th . t cou ldcompete wilh and, hopslully, outrun Neme-es . aswe las lhe new Nem6is NXT JonSharp had on the draw ng boa.d.

As events transpned, both Oavid andJon s pans e i lher changsd or look mlchlongeflhan eilhsr anricipated in 1999. Atte.re t i rng N€m6s is and dona l ing I to theSmi thson lan s Na l iona l A i f & Space Museum, Jon and Tr ic ra Sharp d€c idod loabandon lhe r Form!La Ono Nomesis NXTp@Fcl and, insr€ad, usethar namelor aio-tally now racer lor lhe Sport class. 8y ihrst ime Dav id had mel Mrke A.no ld , learnodabout rhe AR-6 and had dscided lo build il- but he had no dea il would lak€ tiveyea6lo constuct t and gel il ready lo race. ltwas cerrainly ro b€ a busy tive years. Davidwould serve a lerm as president ol the Internationa Formula On€ Pylon Air RacingAssoc ia l ion and wou ld keep h is hand incompglition by racing lhe $96 Grove GR-7in 2000 and s reve Senega ls Cassu l l in2004. O l g rea le f s rgn i l i cancs , however ,Davrd and slacy b/ought lwo sons inio lheworld during the t me the AR-6 was berngbuill Slowart in 2000 and Phrlip in 2003.

BUILDINC THE AF.6

A numbor ol people wou d have a handin lh6 cons t ruc t lon o l the AB-6 . MikeArnold was, ol course, thedssrgn€f and he

also built ths masler plug ior th6 comFlosiletusslage, plls a ssparata, very sturdy ptugror the canopy. David sent the tusotageplug lo Composirss Unl imi t6d in Scap-poose, ORwh6re i t was us6d to maks amold and, from it, th6 tusstago skins. Mostol th6skins wsre aut@lavod prs,preg carbon lib€rwilh a honevcomb cors, but th€cowlrn9 parts w6relLrsl jour pties ot ore-prog carbon ribo. Th€ canopy ptug wasssnt lo Aircratr Windshi6td at Toranc6. CAwher€ lwo shoked canopios w€rs drap6-rom6d over it - borh tuming out with p€rtet

Using rh€s€ conpGirs parts, David buil!p lhs lus6la9€, b€ginning wnh $6 ticwa ,which would consist oi a qlarlsinch thickcoE of birch plr*ood, laced trcnt and backwith sev6ralcomposito Dli€s, th6n with a1/8" layer of Fib€rlrax and a sheath ot srain-l6ss stssl on the lront sid6. Fiv€ engin6mounnng points were buitt into rh€ fi.ewa .e6ch wlh addi t ionatot iss a loD th€m foradd€d strongth, Frcm thoss points, stifi€.,ers wore exrsnd€d back about tive festalong th€ jnsido walls ot the tus€tage to dis-triblte the toads imposed by the engine

Tho AF-6 is a pu€ racd, and as such r€-q! r rss a qro!nd cr6w to br ing i t to thsstaning lin€iora race. The canooy and itsskirt,lof inslance, tift comDt€totv ofi theiuselage to allow lhe pitot to ctimb into thecockpit, alter which the crswm€n roptac€tho canopy and ths pitotseclrss it in ptac€wlh rhre€ sp.ing loadsd tocking pins. Nor-mally, ar rheconctusion ota race, the pilotr€lsas6s rh6 pins and the crsa .smov6s rhecanopy, bur In ac€ordanco with FormutaOne tulss, th6 pitot do€s h6ve th€ caDabititvol r€l6asing th6 canopy in ltight so hs can

Radios aE rsquirod in Fomula On6 rac,eB al Rsno, so both the do.stand vent.alpar ts or rhe ver t ica l ta i l hav6 t ibergtassskins to allow lh6 coh antsnna hounted in-sids lo luncion prop€.ty. The A8-6 rudder,hoh2ontal stabilizer and et€vatols consist otblu6loam solid cor€s with two otv tib6rg lass sk ins, L ike ths Butan ancraf i , lhespars a6 bond€d in p.iof to th6 skin tavuDs.Alllh€ conlrol surtaces, inctuding lh€ rud,dd, are 1 00% balanc€d. lh6 rudde. h6 anarm thar exlonds torward inside the attluselaqe, wirh a cono-shap€d tead count6r-wsight allachsd lo the end. The 6t6vatorcoonlerw6i9hts ars on arms mount€d onth6ir outside ends, and th6 ait€ron woiqhtsa€ bu,ied in th6ir nosss ah6ad of the hing6

Oavid design€d. fabncat€d and insraledhrs own cont.olsystsm, inctlding the to€

Th€ fus€lage is so skinny,' Oavid says,"rhat th@ is no way to put a c€nt€r stick inil, so I dssigned a side stick controt. t,mnol an engin@r, so I hav6 to do thjngs in ahands-on tashion. I took6 shoe box snd abunch of lirtls round sticks and b!i[ scatemod€le ol how I thoughr $s contrct systernshourd work. Thsn I scated it up to fu| sizsusing PVC pipe and tap€d it insids th6 tu$-lag6. When lwas surc ev€rything workedproporly, I built th6 pushrods and tinkag€soul ot m€laland inslrlladrh.m "

Th€ AF-6 s modsrat6ty tapsrsd, one-0iec6, 24 4" wing was dosiqned by HarryFibbbn and burll by Craig Ca o. H€rrysairfoil is a narurallaminar ftow section wirha slighr d@p h rh€ badng €dg€ -to get ridol some ol lh6 burtrl€ lhe wing gs|sal ovdlhr66.nd a hall Gs," Oavid savs. The m6inspa. - aclually ths tront third o. so oflh€wing - is a D-ssction with seven to 6i9ht

Plbto t'y Gol.la Cor

plj€s ol cafbon tib€.that s,(t6nd lrom thstop ol th€ spar forward and back around tolh6 bottom ol rhe spai Bohind th€ naan3pa./D-s€ction, the wing h6s a €ru€d foamcor6 that is covered wnh tib€.gtass. Thiswas don6 ro allow th6 wing to lt€x a bir inhigh G lums and in turbut€ncs-

David sats that wh€n h€ had Cfaig Cattobuild rhe composri€ raoergd wino for hrsCassun. Frsnzy, on6 pound d€nsiiv wh €roam was ussd as th6 co.s. At ihouohskinn€d wilh lwo oli6s ol cabo. jib€r ti6undorlying roam was so soft ihar th€ out€rskin would d€nt wh6n bump€d. Thar woutdbe unacc6ptablo in a natural t6ninar ftowwing, so wh€n Crarg burh th€ AR-6 w'no,David had him us€ two Dound d€n$tv toam.wrrh a quarl6. inch laysr ol three ooundloam alop rhat. On6 gtass€d, that aft Dor,lion otlh6 wing is inmuns to d6nts irom6lbows, dmpp€d rools. Etc., David srys.

Mik€ Arnold! AR.5 has sh@k absolbhgmain g€ar slruls olth€ typ6 originaly de-sign6d by GsoE€ Percira. TheAF-6 maingear is ngid, howwor rhe non-n€{no t€os.made by Robby Grov€, ar6 atumin; a;dar6 gun drilled lor passag6 of hydrauticiluid to ths brak6s. Th€ tsgs 616 rigidty al-rached lo the main sparand wh€n viswsdrrom lhe lronr otth€ airptans, ar€ atignodv6rtcal ly , Ih is involv€s soms pr6cis€gsh.try Th6 wing has fiv6 d€gre€s of di-h€dcl, so, acluallt the gear l€qs ar€ cant€dlive d6g@s tom p€.p€ndicutar to th6 mainspaf, and th6 arl€s, which €xt€nd inwardlrcn rh€ gsa. tegs, are b€nt tiv€ d€gr€€s elhe wh6sls ar€ v6.tical. 5:00x5 Ct€vetandwh66ls and brakos arc used. with tow pro-fil€ Lamb tir6 installod. P.6ssu€ r6ov€rywh6€l panb that lair up onlo ths 966r t6gs

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are f i l ted and, as prev iously noted, arealigned vertically wilh th€ leading edqe oflhs wing to pan positivo and n€gative pres-sur€ gradients to, in atfect, cancel€acholh€r oui lo some extenl and thereby r€duce inleEection drag.

The AR-6 s fixed tailwh€€lis just a linyroller mounted in rhe bortom ofrhsvent.all in . Ons o l the accompanying photosshows how ths airplane is moved abour onrhegrolnd. Again, this is a p!re race( nota darly use sporlplane, so such an otherwise impractical lailwh€sl can bsjustiliedon the basis of low drag. Fo.mula Onesare lowed to lhe star t in9 l in6 and backagan lo the ramp aite. €ces.

The Continenral O,200 initiatty instattodin the AR-6 and faced at Fsno tast Sep-temberwas lhe saho on6 David raced inFrsnzy in lhe 1990s. When ho sold thsracer ro scolly crandlemire, he kspi ths6n9ine and raced it in 2000 in lhe GR-7.Evenl !a l ly insra l l€d in th€ 4B-6, i t wasused torallthe gblnd running. high sFedtari and tlight testing of rh6 nsw d€sign,then raced a l Reno 2005. Formula Onsrac ng 6ngines, al least those of lhe lopcompentois , aro normarry used only forrac ing and are lorn down dur ing the o i fseason and .ebuih. Very oft€n thal meansth€y 90 jlsl a lew hou.s between toral rs,

"This engin€ has nol been pulled apartin close ro six years, Oavld said ai Renolast Seplembe.. "Th€ cyl nd€rs ws/e re-don€ in 1999 and rhe borom 6nd wasdone in 2000. 8y an race siandards, it s aworn-out eng ne, bLr ws smpry drdn t haveline to complete rhe airframe and also re-buid th€ engine in time lof Feno."

All lhis, ol couse. the consequ€nca olrunning an engine, designed to have a fedline o12,700 rpm. al ov€r4.000 €vsl

The AB-6 has a dry sump oi lsystem.wi th lhe or l tank localed on lhe l i rswal l .The oil coole/ s built inro rhe botrom po/r ion o l rhe cowl ing, wi lh i ts own tota l lyndependenl air supply. An enlers throuqh

a smal l in let iust b6low the spinnsr , goesthfough a plenun to the coolor, rhen outlhrough an exit plgnum and a lour sqLrarsinch oullel on lhs bohom righl side ol th€cowlinq. Hoses tunninglo and Lom the oilcoolgr have race car quict disconnoctill-l ings so lhs lowof cowl ing can bs €asi tyremov€d and.€placed. Wh6n tho lowercowlis emov€d, lhs hoses a€ plugged to-geths to p.event a loss ot oil,

Likewise, each bank ol cylindors has itsown s€alsd plenum. Th€ cooling an 6xilsoul o l lhs bol tom ol the cowl lng, a longwilh tho fou.inlo-one tuned exhaost sys,tem. Tho carburstor has its own air intet onthe bonom ot the cowling.

A Stove Hill all-carbon racing propgttefis ussd, mounted on rh6 f ront €nd o l a10.75 inch €xlgnsion to keep it as faroutin to c lean a i r as fsasib le. (You look atlhese long exlonsions and wonder how vi-brat ion can possib ly b€ avoidedl ) lhecowling rs so streamlin6d rhar jusr a tittteeighl inch diamelercarbon fiber spinnsr isa l l lhat s nooded to br ing lh6 a i rp lane s

Again. in k€eping wirh its sols purposeas a racing airplane, the AF-6 has a luelcapacity of only 5,4 qallons. Th€ rank is lo-cal6d ahead oflhe instruhenl panelandfuel makes its way lo lhe carbu.etor viagravity ilou The insrrumsnts and engin6conlrols are also kepl to a minimum - ai-speed, a l l im6ter . o i l pr6ssur€ andlemperalo16, cylinder head temperature.tachometer, skid ball. G-melsr, th.otlle andmix lure. There lwo indiv idual mag

Mosi ol ths AR-6's ltighl tosring rookplace lasl summsr at Btron, CA,"lt was hol, around 100 d€g.oes, so Idid my tlight lsts al 6,000 f€et lo try lo du-plrcats lhe conditions at Fono. This wasbofors th€ anpbn€ was painted dd beforelclosed the cooling an inl€ts down a bit.The cylinder head temps wsrs loo c@linlhoss sarly t6sts, blr rh6 oiltempwasjustpertscl. ln lact, at Feno a crsw memberhad lo hold a rag in lh6 o i lcoolor oui ls twhil6 wo wamed up to get lh6 oilto hear.It stilll@k a lap and a hall lo g€t il to coh6

"Running the en9in6 at Byron with stockrrming,lhs airplan€ tru6d out b€rween 290and 295 mph at6,00016t . l t@k i tdownto 3,000 toet and saw a lru6 o1310 mph.Formula ones lik€ warm air. lkn6w thos6spseds w6r6 fastor rhan l d sse in cool€rtsmporalures at Feno in S6pl€mber. bul Iwas rearry pr€asod thal th6 airplane wasthar fast - with myold engine."

with th€ tighr resring satistadonty com-pleted, Oavid sp6nr th. snrir€ monlh olAugusl2005 painting the .ac6r

'Ol lhs 31 days, t put in ar lsasr 10houF a day ior 29 oi th€m, I paint€d it my-sell and sand.d il and butt€d it 6nd b!fiedit and waxed ir - it was a real eifort to g6t itfinished in tim6 lor R6no"

PPG Concept paint was us6d - Scan€tR6d on rhstuselag€and PUE Whh6 onrhsrest ol the airtrame. Not all th6 FomutaOnss at Rono a€ show planss, bul Oavid sAFI-6 has a lit and tinish of Gfand Cham-pion €lib€r by anyone! srandards.

FIRS' FUGH|

David llew theAF-6 for rhetirsr time onMarch 11,2005 - and i r was rhe fn$ t im€he had ever tlown a sid€ stick.''| had some apprehgnsion, ' he says, Ilhought it miqhr be way pilch sonsitive, buiit really worked olt nic6ly.

Af AENO

Jusl getting lhe racer, which had besnnam€d End6avor, l rom San Franciscoacro$ lhs Si€ras to Feno wE yer anorherchallenge. Lik€ mosl Formula Ones, it istrail€red to rac6, blt wirh th€ main tandinggsar mountod on th€ on6-pi€ce wing rathtrlhan on lh€ luselage, dishanllinglhs AR-6rcqurcs some sp€cial €quipment and pro-

cedlr€s. Fnst, th6 taitwh@t ispracod on a stand thal is atEltthre teer tall, th€n thscowlingis removed and a hois l ismoved in lo posi i ion andhooksd ro the sngine. Nexr,lhe 6ntire ai|plan€ is liftod sonethree l@l ofith€ Iround and alour whe€ldolly is plshsd un-dern6ath i t . The dot ty has acradle rhat fits th6 airloat shapoof the bonom ot the winq - andlhe a i fp lan€ is then lower€dinto it. Atrhis poinr, the wing isunboh€d trcm lhe fu$lags andrsmarns in lhe dollys c.adl6 asih6 flsslage is again raised bythe en9in6 hoisl. Atl€r lh€ wingis ro l led out f rom under thsiLrs€lag€, a sp6cial transportlanding g€aris att.ched to thelu$lag€, using the wing atiachlihings. Finally, bolh ths winqdolly and the lu$lag€ are rollsdinto a trail€r - and th6 airplaneis ready lor ths h ighway. l rtakes rwo p€opre just ov6. anho!r lo accompl ish th€ lask.David says, and, ot colrs€, ths

12 WN|ER M

proc€ss hasro b6 dons in r€vsrso once atlhs race site. These Formola One guys a€nolhing if nol d€dicaledl

Forlhoss of you who have subsdibsdsrnce our Fall 2005 issue, which contained€omplste coverage ot lhs Reno .aces, GaryHublerol Caldwell,lD has bs€n dominalingthe Formula Oneclass sinc€ 2002 in hista-pe.win9 Cass! l l . Ma. iah. He was ropqual l ier again lh is ysar , at 257.097 mphiwon bolh his hear racesi and won the Goldchampionship ar rhe conclus ion o l thew@k. Thisysar he had compotition, how-eve. David Hoover qualified a somowhatdrstanl second a i249.815 mph. but was/ight on Gary! tailfearh6.s in 6ach of theh6at racss and in the champio.ship .ace -each time at s ghl ap averago spe€ds inlhe 250 mph rang€, which was faster than

''That was wirh me having lsss than 20lapson lhs racecou.se in th€ a i /ptane,"David said al Reno last September "lwasstillkind ol loarning lhe best way th s anplane wanled ro b€ nown out the.e with thislong wing. ll was really phenomenal to b6able lo run that c los6lo Gary in our l i rs tyear Nexl ysar, oi course, we €rpscl tocome back to F€no wth a tllly d€velopedrace engine. Th€re has bs€n a tot of stuit,l6chnology wise, ro com€ along srnce myengino was last.ebuih thar wo can inco.po-rate, and I may havs lo try a new prop. Thisyear Iwas ls ing a 54" x 6a 'prop. Therears cu(ently only two Formula Ones thatcan r!n lhal much pitch and that's mysotfand Gary Hub er lt takes a lot ol horse-power lo fun lhal much p i lch. Wi th myengine lpgraded. I may have to try a litilemo€ prtch, however, l wolldn'l want to turnany higher rpm. The prop tip speed is at-mosr at .9 Mach now, so thats the

'Ths olher lhing rhat has rsarly pteas€dhe lhis year is thal th6 airplans has beentotally mainl€nance iree. Wejustgo €cing,come back and pop ths cowl, pok€ around.clean oii the blgs and w€ re ready for th€

Since il is a brand n6w design, Oavidwas asked about ihe AR-6 s handling chac

"The ground handling is awesome b6causs ot lhe wide landin9 g€ar, I makeslh6 landings v€ry nice. My app.oach speedand landing sp€sd a.€ the exact sams. I'moverthe fence at 90, Ol cours6, with thislong wing it wanrs to glids a tittt€ moErhanlhs Cassul ts I ve l lown. I would say therudder |s mors sensitive than thoss on theCassutts. h's got a lanty brge nrdder. ptusil's balanc6d, so it takes l€ss lo.c6 on thsruddsr pedals. Roll and pitch are almostpod€ctly balanced, as tar as harfiony isconcehed. 8o I rate is probably avoragelo. a long wing Formula One - probablyaboul 80 degrses psr second. l t s nolspsctacular, but on the race course in turbulsnc€ its really Esponsive in rcll, which iswhal you want in a rac6r Pirch, lthink, iscomparabl€ to mosl oi the Formula On€s."Anorherthing that works as inrondsd islhs long wing. Theanplanejust do6sn tloss spsed around rhe pylons. This andMik€ Arnold 's theof ies about how th6canopy, the wide point of th6loselags andlhe t .a i l ing odge of the wing sho! ld bsaiign€d seem ro b6 working. tthink he has

''This is by iar the most comtortabte FoFmulaOne Iv€ flown, Youte sifting iairlylarr€€lined, and you ve 9ol a lull arm fest thatlhs srde slick is mounrsd to. so you. arm isnor s!spended and afl6ctsd by G toads.

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Wilh a c€nlsr nount€d srick, you ar€ actu,ally physically working. On this, att I do ismove hy wnsr and I m g6ttin9 ih6 samekind ot cont.ol rosponss. Th€ cockpit is alot long6r' iore and afi, lhan il looks tromrh€ oursid6. I'm 6 2" and if l'm not weanngny paachul€. I can b6Ely Each rhs rudd€r

'Everybodysees whal th€yth ink is aheadrssl with a holdod ind€ntalion ior hyholmsl, bul that's acrually rhs rollovsr struc-t!re - it s 95% K€vlar and is integral withthe s6ai back bulkh€ad, In llight, my headls w6llloRard oflhat structu.e - und6rthelallest parl ot the canopy. Visibility out oflhe canopy is 6w€som6. You can actuattyrotalo your h€ad around and s whers th€.ace t.allic is. Th€ cockpit is v€ry, veryroomy and v€.y comlortabl€,

' 'Asopposed to my Cassut t , which Ichanged svsry y€ar, this airplans will n6vslook difierent than il does now. The ontything that will ev€r chang6 is lh6 dgin€ andmayb€ th6cooling an inlets willb€ smaller,bul, physically, I will nsvsr change this at-pran€. I rook al it and I don't think th€r€ isantthmg thal can be done ro maks it b€terthan il is now. Thal's,ny opinion. ltwouldhave been nic6 it ir had b€€n a titttB tightsrrt wsighs around 600 pounds, but a lol otlhal was in tho composil€ wing whors youhav6lo d€sign lor toEional rigidity as w6tlastor bonding loads, and, on this airplans,a iot ot b@ling up whsr€ th€ gea. is bolt€don, |n ev€ry ca*, we rsan€d toward sfety,so I m happy wi th th6 way th€ a i rptan€tu.ned out and I'm.eally looking lorward

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